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Abstract

Previous research has indicated that rats use various conceptual classes to select the correct stimulus when presented with a discrimination task. Four male hood rats were required to discriminate between pairs of triangles or circles that varied in size. The rats were tested in a T-maze where they underwent three phases. The training phase involved presentations of either circles or triangles that required the rats to select the correct stimulus for a reinforcer. The testing phase involved the presentation of a random probe trial where the pair of untrained shapes was presented. A post-testing phase assessed the rats' capability to select the correct stimulus when presented with the pair of untrained shapes. A one-way within subjects ANOVA found that the rats selected the correct stimulus above chance level, F(19,57) = 2.85, p < 0.05, and two Chi Square Goodness of Fit Tests found that the rats' performance on probe trials was above chance, (1, N=4) = 22.5, p< 0.05, and that the rats performance in the post-testing phase was above chance, x² = (1, N=4) =4.5, p< 0.05.